Method of salvaging metal cans



y 1947' T. P. KEOGH El AL 2,423,708

METHOD OF SALVAGING METAL CANS I Filed Feb. 23, 1944 Patented July 8,

METHOD OF SALVAGING METAL CANS Thomas P. Keogh, New York, and Henry A. Fink, Pelham Manor, N. Y., assignors to Continental Can Company, Inc., New York, N. Y., a corporation of New York Application February 23, 1944, Serial No. 523,594

1 Claim. 1

The invention relates to an improved method of salvaging metal cans, the body portion of which is made of drawn metal.

An object of the invention is to provide a method of reconstructing the body portion of a used can of the above type so that another closure end may be secured thereto by seaming and so that thecapacity of the reconstructed can shall be the same as the original can.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a view partly in side elevation and partly in vertical section of a drawn metal can body flanged preparatory to the seaming of a closure end thereto.

Figure la is a sectional view through a portion of the can showing the end closure seamed to the body portion.

Figure 2 is a view partly in vertical section and partly in side elevation showing a reconstructed can body flanged preparatory to the seaming of a closure end thereto.

Figure 3 is a view similar to Fig. 1, but showing a slightly modified form of wall structure in the body portion.

Figure 4 is a view similar to Fig. 2, but showing the modified can body of Fig. 3.

The invention has to do with a method of salvaging metal can bodies, and applies particularly to a can body drawn from a metal blank. Fig. 1 of the drawing shows such a can body. The body wall I and the bottom end 2 are integral. The body is preferably drawn from a circular blank by the usual form of dies, and after the body has been completed, it is flanged as indicated at 3 so that a closure end 4 (Fig. 1a) can be secured thereto by double seaming as indicated at 5. The drawn can body with the closure end unattached is sent to the packer, and after the can is filled, then the closure end is secured thereto by double seaming, as shown in Fig. 1a. This is the usual form of closing a can after it is filled. In order to open such a, can, the closure end is usually ruptured and the contents removed. In order to salvage the can, the body wall is severed on a line immediately below the double seam which is indicated at m--m in' Fig. 1a. This completely detaches the end closure from the body of the can, but it also shortens th height of the can body. The end closure and the portion of the body wall attached thereto are discarded. The body portion, of course, is thoroughly cleansed so as to remove all traces of the product stored therein, after which it is subjected to a further drawing action which thins the body Wall and bottom portion some 2 what and at the same time extends the length of the can body to its original size.

In Fig. 2, the redrawn body wall is indicated at la and the bottom wall is indicated at 2a. This reconstructed body portion is then flanged as indicated at 3a. The reconstructed can body is of the same capacity .as the original can body. This reconstructed can body is filled and another closure end is seamed thereto for the closing of the same. While the closure end and a very small portion of the body wall have been discarded, the greater portion of the metal in the original can has been saved in the reconstructed can.

In the drawing of the original can body, the

bottom wall and the side Wall may be made of slightly greater thickness than the Wall of a usual metal can body. However, this may not be necessary. It is essential that there be suficient metal in the retained portion of the can body which is redrawn so as to produce a can body which will be strong and satisfactory for re-use.

Figs. 3 and 4 show a slightly modified form of can body. The bottom end 6 is provided with an inwardly extending portion 1. The side wall 8 and the bottom 6 are integral, and the entire body is formed by drawing as described in connection with Figs. 1 and 2. The body wall 8 is flanged as indicated at 9 and is closed by an end closure 4 attached thereto by double seaming as indicated in Fig. 1a. When it is desired to use the contents of the sealed container, the end member is ruptured. In order to salvage the body portion of the can, the body wall is severed on the line x-zc, and thus the closure member and the seamed portion joining it to the body wall are removed and discarded. The retained body wall is then cleansed and subjected to a redrawing or reshaping action which extends the body wall to the same height as the original body wall, as indicated at 80. in Fig. 4. During this drawing operation, the recessed portion 1 gives up metal so that the recess is of much less extent, as indicated at la in Fig. 4. The side wall 8a and the bottom wall to are somewhat thinned, but not to the extent of the thinning of the wall and bottom as shown in connection with Fig. 1. The reconstructed body is flanged as shown in Fig. 4, and then it is ready for re-use, After filling, another end is seamd thereto for closing the same.

It will be noted from the above that a method has been provided for the salvaging of the greater portion of the metal of the body of the can. The body wall, of course, is made from a material which can be drawn into a can body. Preferably 3 an aluminum alloy is used. The body portion of the can may be re-used once, and possibly twice, and this results in a great saving of metal.

It is obvious that minor changes in the method may be made without departing from the spirit of the invention as set forth in the appended claim.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed as new and desired to be secured by Letters Patent is:

The method of salvaging used metal cans having a drawn body portion closed by seaming an end thereto, comprising severing the body on a line immediately beneath the seam joining the end of the body portion for access to the contents of the can, discarding the portion of the'can above the severing line, subjecting the remainder of the can body to a drawing action for lengthening the body wall to its original length and fianging the redrawn body preparatory to reclosure of the same by seaming an end to the flange of the body portion.

THOMAS P. KEOGH. HENRY A. FINK.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of, record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 2,175,411 Rheem Oct. 10, 1939 1,289,645 Burpee Dec. 31, 1918 1,255,237 Sevigue Feb. 5, 1918 15 1,331,372 Popper Feb. 17, 1920 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 475,110 Great Britain Nov. 15, 1937 

